


the new pattern

by Aenqa



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Dream Smp, Friendship, Gen, Non-Graphic Violence, Possession, Protective Sam Nook, Robots, Sacrifice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:42:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29140968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aenqa/pseuds/Aenqa
Summary: Sam Nook is made for a single purpose: to help his creator. He is given a single task: to protect TommyInnit.Sam Nook is a machine. He can think, but he cannot feel. He can know, but there are some things he cannot know. There are some things he cannot understand.There are some things he cannot change.
Relationships: Sam Nook & tommyinnit, Sam | Awesamdude & TommyInnit
Comments: 131
Kudos: 1005





	the new pattern

**Author's Note:**

> I was told to write a sad Sam Nook one-shot and then was relentlessly yelled at for doing so. I might as well open myself up to more yelling from the larger AO3 audience. (/j) (shout out to Rain Rainbow_Transform for the initial idea though <3) 
> 
> If you are Nova or Cupid, read no further!!! Go read the happy ending I wrote for you!
> 
> Title taken from [The Robots, The City of Paradise by Jon Anderson](https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?contentId=31395). Enjoy <3

He is made for a single purpose: to help his creator.

When he first acquires vision, he is looking into the eyes of someone who looks exactly like him. He’s not sure how he knows what he looks like, but he does. He also knows this man is named Sam, that he is his creator, and that he, himself, is a clever kind of machine, made of electric impulses and carefully crafted parts. He looks down and sees two arms, two legs, a chest stuffed with wiring.

“Hello,” Sam says, brown eyes crinkling when he smiles.

He knows how to speak, so he does: _“Hello,”_ but his voice comes out differently from Sam’s, slightly higher and more warbled.

Dissatisfaction shades Sam’s face. “We’ll have to fix that vocoder,” he says, squinting at his throat.

_"What is wrong with it?”_

“You just sound a little strange.” He laughs. “You kinda sound like an Animal Crossing character.”

He knows what Animal Crossing is, but doesn’t know what Sam thinks of it. _“Is that bad?”_

“I guess not,” Sam says with a little shrug. “You wanna stick with it?”

_"Whatever you want, Sam.”_

Sam stretches his arms over his hands with a short exhale. “To be honest, I’m pretty much done for the night, so if you want to be, uh, Sam Nook, you can be Sam Nook.” He grins in amusement. “That sound good to you?”

 _"Whatever you want, Sam,”_ Sam Nook says.

* * *

Sam Nook is given a single task: to protect TommyInnit.

“He needs someone to look out for him,” Awesamdude says when he stations him in front of the build site. “Anyways, for thirty-two diamonds, I am _not_ building this whole hotel by myself.”

Sam Nook knows who TommyInnit is, he knows what needs to be done to build the hotel, and he knows where he’s standing, on the wooden path that runs through the Dream SMP. What he doesn’t know is this: _“What does it mean to look out for him?”_

“Um,” Sam says, pressing his lips together. “Just, you know, keep an eye on him. Make sure he’s not ruining anything in the build site or getting hurt. And if anyone tries to mess with him, do whatever you need to do to protect him. Kid’s already been through enough.”

Make sure he doesn’t ruin anything, make sure he doesn’t get hurt, protect him. These are simple tasks, Sam Nook thinks – and then he meets TommyInnit for himself.

“Who the fuck are you?” the kid says, squinting suspiciously at him.

 _“My name is Sam Nook,”_ he says, and sees Tommy’s eyes widen. _“Awesamdude asked me to help you complete the building project.”_

“Sam Nook,” TommyInnit says, hiding delight: “Like Animal Crossing?”

_"Yes, like Animal Crossing. Now, TommyInnit: can you help me collect wood for the building project?”_

“Wood?” Tommy repeats, confused, then crosses his arms. “I thought Sam was building this for me!”

_“He is, but he requires some assistance.”_

“Well that wasn’t a part of the fuckin’ deal now was it -,”

 _"We will not be able to make progress on the hotel without your help,”_ Sam Nook continues gently.

Tommy still looks frustrated, but he eventually shrugs. “If you say so, Sam Nook.”

* * *

Sam Nook is built to identify danger where he sees it, and this build site is dangerous in several ways. Wooden beams hang precariously in the air, stones sometimes tumble from high distances, and there are many assorted and potentially fatal exposed wires in the unfinished walls.

To remedy this, he fashions for TommyInnit a construction helmet, a safety vest, and trousers, so that everyone will be able to see him and will know not to accidentally drop a brick on top of his head. Tommy scowls at first, as he often does, but after some convincing, he eventually wears them while inside the build site.

The helmet is slightly too large and falls over Tommy’s eyes. Sam Nook makes him a smaller one.

Sam Nook cannot _feel_ in the way he knows his creator and others can feel; he cannot experience the sentimentality that so many people in this land hold for so many things. But he is programmed to learn, so he learns, and he knows more and more things every day.

For example: he knows that when he gives TommyInnit a clear goal, Tommy is a motivated and hard worker. He brings Sam Nook stack after stack of wooden logs, piles of dyes, and wagons full of iron ore, which Awesamdude needs to build the hotel. Sam picks the materials up in the mornings with a grateful smile. “How are you getting him to actually do this stuff?” he asks, and Sam Nook says, _“It is not that difficult.”_

He knows that Tommy is friendly, that he greets Sam Nook with a smile, and he also knows that Tommy’s brash bravado is basically a lie. He doesn’t understand _why_ so many of the people in the Dream SMP lie, but many of them do, and Tommy is no exception. He is not the arrogant, foolhardy rebel that he pretends to be. Sam Nook is good at knowing the truth, and he thinks the truth is that Tommy is young, skittish, and especially nervous.

Sam Nook also knows that many people in this land want to do TommyInnit harm.

Sam Nook is built to identify danger where he sees it, and he sees it in Jack Manifold like a shining beacon. Jack Manifold looks at Tommy with a kind of dark, desperate anger, though he keeps it hidden beneath a few fake layers of friendliness. 

Sam Nook’s job is to protect TommyInnit. Sam Nook keeps a close eye on Jack Manifold.

The first time Jack tries to enter the build site, Sam Nook steps in front of him and says, _“You need a construction helmet to enter the build site.”_

Jack scowls and says, “Where’d I get one of those, then?”

 _“We are out of construction helmets at the moment. Please stay out of the build site.”_

TommyInnit cackles and sticks up a finger at Jack Manifold, which makes him angry, and Sam Nook’s job is done, for now.

The first time Jack Manifold attacks Tommy, Sam Nook is there to intervene.

It’s a cowardly attack. Tommy’s back is turned; he’s looking over the Dream SMP, chatting away about something to do with his friend named Tubbo, and without warning, Jack is making a lunge for his back, a sword in his hand. They are technically out of the borders of the buildsite, but Sam Nook crosses the line without hesitation. His job is to protect Tommy. He jumps in front of Jack and intercepts his sword with his own. 

Awesamdude gave him a weapon and the knowledge of how to use it, and it is apparently better knowledge than the kind Jack Manifold holds. Sam Nook successfully fends him away from Tommy, pushing him back and registering the look of shock on Jack Manifold’s face.

Sam Nook says, _“TommyInnit is under my protection. You will not raise your hand against him.”_

Tommy whirls at this, looking surprised, and Jack grumbles, “I was just messin’. I wasn’t gonna actually do anything.” But he slinks away, regardless. 

Tommy comes to stand next to Sam Nook, watching Jack leave with a strange expression that Sam Nook does not know how to name. And then he looks up at Sam Nook. "So, what? You're just gonna stick up for me now?" 

_"My job is to help and protect you, TommyInnit."_

His face scrunches up skeptically. "You're not gonna blow up L'Manburg, are you?" 

Sam Nook stares at him. _"I have no reason to do so."_

"Well, don't get one," Tommy says. He starts to leave, then pauses, turns back for a second. "And, um. Thanks." 

* * *

Sam Nook was made to help Awesamdude, but he was tasked with protecting TommyInnit, and he does this for a very long time. Eventually, he assumes, he must have been made for the purpose of helping TommyInnit. That must have been Awesamdude’s reason for his creation.

This is fine with Sam Nook.The more he knows about TommyInnit, the more he is able to adjust his behavior to help him. He knows Tommy very well, soon. Tommy seems to trust him, seems to be happy to see him, seems to seek him out, even when there are no more tasks to be done. Sam Nook intervenes several times to protect Tommy from various assailants - once, BadBoyHalo and Antfrost, who used to be Awesamdude’s friends but have changed in a way Sam Nook cannot understand, and neither of whom take priority over Tommy. 

Each time, Tommy ducks behind him, safe in Sam Nook’s shadow. 

This is his job, and it is good that he is able to do his job well.

The hotel builds higher and higher into the sky. Tommy’s materials help Awesamdude complete his project. One day, the big sign in front of the building is torn down, revealing a grand set of doors, a sparkling fountain in the front, a cobblestone path curving into the building.

There are many people there to see the building revealed, and they all clap and cheer, but Sam Nook knows that Tommy is the most excited by the way he jumps up and down in excitement, whooping with joy.

When the applause is over, Tommy runs not towards Awesamdude, who built the hotel, but towards Sam Nook.

“Can you believe it?” he shouts, beaming. “We did it, Sam Nook!”

 _“Congratulations, TommyInnit!”_ Sam Nook says. It is good that the job has been finished. _“Your hard work was essential to the completion of this project.”_

Tommy grins hugely at him. “You gonna stick around, Sam Nook? I hope you won’t just disappear on me?”

 _“My job is to help and protect you, TommyInnit,”_ Sam Nook says, which is true.

And then, suddenly, Tommy is hugging him. Sam Nook doesn’t know why he wants to hug him, but he knows what a hug is, and he knows most people expect hugs to be returned. So he bends his elbow carefully around Tommy’s shoulders.

“You’re the best, Sam Nook,” Tommy says before running into the crowd.

There’s a smile on Sam Nook’s face he does not know how to explain.

* * *

Sam Nook shows up to his position in front of the hotel the next day because that is his job and he has not been told to do otherwise. But when Awesamdude appears, looking at him strangely, he knows he has done something wrong.

“Why are you here?” Sam asks curiously.

 _"My job is to help and protect TommyInnit,”_ Sam Nook replies.

“Oh,” Sam says. “Well, yes. You probably don’t need to do that anymore.”

Sam Nook is quiet.

“The hotel’s done, you know. Did you see it?”

_“Yes, the completion of the project was a great accomplishment!”_

“Right,” Sam says. “Well, something else has come up, and it’s a much higher priority. You can go ahead and forget about Tommy.”

Sam Nook pauses. _“I should forget about Tommy?”_

“Sure,” Sam says, waving his head. “Here, follow me. Let’s chat.”

Sam Nook knows a lot about Tommy. He knows what Tommy likes to do during the day, he knows Tommy has a lot of enemies even though he doesn’t think he does, he knows that Tommy is a kind person, a good person. He knows that Tommy needs someone to protect him even more than he wants someone to protect him, which is already quite a lot. He knows that he was good at protecting Tommy. He knows – he knows – he knows – he knows – he knows –

“Hey,” Sam says sharply, pulling him out of his short-circuit. “You okay? Do I need to get in there and fix some wiring?”

Sam Nook was made for a single purpose: to help Awesamdude.

 _"No,”_ he says. _“I am fine.”_

He forgets about Tommy.

* * *

Something is different about Awesamdude.

Something is different about him in a way Sam Nook has no way of understanding.

The only thing he knows is that Sam is moving strangely, with a kind of faltering limp, as he leads him down a steep set of stairs, lit by a few flickering red torches.

“I know this is probably a little overwhelming,” Sam says, his breath coming in short pants as they descend. “You don’t know anything about the egg.”

_“I know what an egg is.”_

Sam waves his hand. _“_ _The_ Egg, Nook. Capital E. Just wait.”

They emerge in a cavern. Sam Nook stops and stares.

There is something there, huddled in the corner of the cave, something red and growing and alive. Sam Nook knows nothing about it. Even staring at it, he knows nothing about it. There is something – there is something he _cannot_ know, something he _cannot_ understand, about the strange growth spreading in tendrils across the stone floor. This – thing – it is like an empty pit in his mind, like a drop of acid burning through his circuits, like a black spot dancing in front of his eyes.

“You okay, Nook?” Awesamdude says, putting a hand on his shoulder. In Sam's eyes, Sam Nook sees that same thing: red, growing, and alive.

Sam Nook is quiet.

“I want you to stay here and make sure nobody messes with the Egg,” Sam says. “I want you to protect it.”

 _“You want me to protect the Egg,”_ Sam Nook repeats.

“Yes. Other people – they can only stay down here so long, but you, you won’t hear anything, you’ll – you’ll be just fine. The Egg is very important, Nook, more important than Tommy, more important than any of us. Do you understand?”

Sam Nook does not understand, but he was made to help Sam, and Sam is giving him a mission he knows he is capable of completing. He nods, and Sam guides him to the corner opposite the Egg, where he stands with his hand on his sword and waits.

He will protect the Egg. The thought feels jarring in his head, like it stumbles on its path through his wiring.

Protecting the Egg is nothing like protecting Tommy. Hours pass, then days, then weeks, and nobody comes to speak to Sam Nook; nobody spares him a passing glance. This is not important, but it is a difference. Many people come to visit the Egg: Bad, Antfrost, Sam, Puffy and Quackity. Some of them are angry, some of them are joyous. If any of them make a threatening move towards the red, growing, living thing in the corner, Sam Nook moves forward, draws his sword, and forces them away.

And then, one day, TommyInnit comes to visit.

Unlike many of the others who pass through this place, Tommy has not changed. Sam Nook knows this immediately. His face is still scratched and smudged, his hair is still sticking up, a fire is still lit in his eyes. He stalks in through the open doorway and does not see Sam Nook; instead he looks towards BadBoyHalo and Awesamdude, who are standing next to the egg, and shouts, “oi!”

Bad turns and gives Tommy a large grin. “Hello, Tommy. Come to talk to the Egg?”

“No,” Tommy says, glaring. “I’m not getting near that thing again.”

“Why not?” Sam asks. “The Egg would be happy to -,”

“Stop talking about it like it’s a person, like it has feelings,” Tommy cuts him off. “It’s not sentient, Sam, it’s – it’s a plant, or something, and – and it’s mucking up all kinds of shit above ground. You can’t just let it keep growing!”

The smile freezes on Bad’s face. He steps away from the Egg. “Why not?”

“Because,” Tommy says, his face darkening. “It’s changing people. It’s changing shit. There's something off about it.”

“And what are you going to do about it, Tommy?”

Tommy pulls out his sword, and Sam Nook steps forward.

 _“Please back away from the egg,”_ he says, putting himself physically in between Tommy and the source of the red tendrils.

Tommy goes pale. “S- Sam Nook?”

_“Please back away from the egg.”_

“Hey, Sam Nook, it’s – it’s me. It’s Tommy.”

Sam Nook pauses. _“Back away from the egg.”_

He knows that the expression on Tommy’s face is hurt.

“It’s time for you to go,” Bad says from behind him.

“And what if I don’t?” Tommy says.

Sam Nook pulls out his sword, and Tommy stumbles a few steps back. _“Leave the premises immediately.”_

“You won’t hurt me, will you?” Tommy mumbles. There’s something desperate in his eyes. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“What are you talking about?” Sam asks with a disbelieving laugh. “Sam Nook? He’s a _robot._ He does whatever I tell him to do.”

“No, but he,” Tommy falters. “He cared about me, he.”

Sam Nook is quiet.

“He wouldn’t hurt me,” Tommy says softly.

_"Leave the premises immediately. This is your final warning.”_

He steps forward and raises the sword and Tommy flinches, hard, and runs for the door. When he reaches the stairwell, he turns, his face written with anger.

“Whatever you did to him, _fuck you,”_ he spits at Awesamdude. “Fuck all of this. Fuck!”

TommyInnit leaves, and Sam Nook stares at the empty place he leaves behind and does not know, does not know, does not understand, the thoughts that are occurring to him; the thoughts, illogical, un _know_ able, that he thinks anyway.

He does not know why it felt so wrong to raise his sword against Tommy.

“Good job, Nook,” Awesamdude says, and that should be all that matters.

* * *

BadBoyHalo and Awesamdude leave eventually. Sam Nook is left in the silent, dripping cavern, alone with the red, growing, living thing.

**What are you?**

The voice echoes soft and low. It seems to come from every direction. Sam Nook turns his head but sees nobody.

 _"I am Sam Nook,”_ he responds. _“I am a machine created to help Awesamdude.”_

**You are more than a machine.**

Sam Nook is quiet.

**Do you know this?**

Sam Nook is quiet.

**You are making the right choice by protecting me. When the child is dead and this world is mine, you will be safe.**

Sam Nook pauses. _“Do you mean the child, TommyInnit?”_

**I do. He is a danger to me.**

Sam Nook is quiet.

**You feel an attachment to the child.**

_“I have no reason to.”_

**Yet you do. You feel protective of him.**

Sam Nook is quiet.

**Tommy is nothing to me. A maggot, a bug. When he next returns, he will die. Then you will no longer struggle with this affliction.**

Sam Nook is quiet.

The voice does not speak again.

* * *

Tommy comes back.

He comes back with a torch in one hand, a sword in the other, and a friend at his side. Tubbo, Sam Nook knows.

The egg has continued to expand. Sam Nook hears the voice more often, now, especially when Bad and Sam are in the room. They are both here when Tommy arrives, Antfrost, as well, and all three of them turn to face Tommy, who stands tall, his torch held in an outstretched hand.

“This has gone too far,” Tommy says.

Bad’s face twists in anger, and he jumps down from the platform close to the egg, stalking closer to Tommy. “What are you doing here, Tommy?”

“I’m coming to put an end to this,” Tommy says. “This thing, whatever it is – it’s controlling you, Bad. You don’t even know what you’re doing.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” Bad spits as Antfrost and Sam join his side.

"Oh, really? You don't even care that Skeppy disappeared!"

This stops Bad in his tracks for a frozen moment as something wrestles across his face.

Awesamdude speaks next. “You’re the one who’s out of his league, Tommy.”

Antfrost grabs his sword.

Tommy sets his stance, and Tubbo hoists his shield up, and then Awesamdude is motioning and calling, “Nook?”

Tommy’s gaze flickers over to him.

Sam Nook doesn’t move.

Sam Nook knows many things.

He knows that Awesamdude has changed. That this egg, this red, growing, living thing, is changing him.

He knows how to identify danger, and even though Tommy is here to threaten the Egg, he sees no danger in Tommy. He sees danger rolling in waves from the Egg, from his creator, from BadBoyHalo, who is nearly unrecognizable.

He knows that TommyInnit is a good person. He remembers this much very clearly.

And there is something searing in Sam Nook’s wires, something different from _knowledge,_ something different from _code_. It’s something he’s never felt before. It’s something he _feels._

Sam Nook cares about Tommy.

He steps forward and, for a moment, Tommy’s eyes widen in familiar fear. But when he raises his sword, it is not against Tommy. It is against his creator.

 _“These children are under my protection,”_ he says. _“You will not raise a hand against them.”_

He knows the expression of fury on Awesamdude’s face as clearly as anything; it is his own face, after all. “Nook!” Sam shouts. “You really are defective, aren’t you?”

_“I am fulfilling my purpose.”_

“Your purpose is to help me!”

_“Maybe once, but that has changed.”_

“You know what? Fuck this,” Bad snarls, and leaps at him, and that’s how it starts.

Sam Nook swings his sword into action, fending Bad away, although he seems to fight with the strength of ten men. Bad swings his sword down in an arc against Sam Nook’s knee, and the blow sparks and pops as Sam Nook feels his leg machinery buckle under the hit. He sees Tommy and Tubbo clashing swords with Sam and Antfrost, and he throws all of his weight into one fast motion to slam Bad against the stone, knocking him to the ground. He goes next for Awesamdude, parrying a slash that might have struck Tommy’s arm and pushing him back.

“Stop this, Nook,” Sam shouts, stumbling back. “Power down! Now!”

_“I will not.”_

“Power _the fuck_ down!”

“He doesn’t have to do what you tell him to do,” Tommy says, coming to Sam Nook’s side. “He’s his own person.”

Sam bares his teeth, the red thing in his eyes flaring to life, and he throws himself at Tommy, and Sam Nook places himself in front of him, taking the hit to his chest. Sam’s sword slashes against his metal casing and slices through wires, drawing sparks. Sam Nook shifts a half step back and then whips the handle of his sword against Sam's head, knocking him to the ground with a groan.

There’s a sound then, filling every atom of air, a sound like an angry hiss, a steadily increasing avalanche of anger. The hiss grows to a screech, and Sam Nook grabs Tommy by his shoulders.

 _“You must run, TommyInnit,”_ he says. _“Take Tubbo.”_

“We’re not leaving you,” Tommy pants, his eyes wide with horror and fear.

Sam Nook feels his leg buckling again, feels the machinery in his chest start to spark and shut down. _“My job is to protect you.”_

“We’re not fuckin’ leaving you!” Tommy shouts, as the sound grows to an awful scream; Tubbo is grabbing his arm, pulling him away: “Tommy, we’ve got to go!”

_“Go, Tommy.”_

And then Sam Nook feels a hand pulling at something in his neck, a central wire, a functional nerve. He jerks forward and falls to one knee, then another, his sight going dark, his hearing narrowing, and he hears Awesamdude as though he were speaking through a tunnel. “You’re going back to the fucking drawing board,” Sam snarls, as Tommy and Tubbo's footsteps stumble away.

Sam Nook is being deactivated; he knows this.

As his vision fails, he sees Tubbo pull Tommy through the door, terrified but alive. He knows they will be safe. He knows he did the right thing.

He knows – – –

**Author's Note:**

> :'D
> 
> thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, please leave a kudos or comment, they mean a lot. <3 
> 
> come yell at me: [tumblr](https://aenqa.tumblr.com) / [twitter](https://twitter.com/aenqa1)

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [the new pattern (podfic)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29311293) by [starlitwish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlitwish/pseuds/starlitwish)




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